Wednesday, October 20, 2010

DriveImage XML FAQ excerpts

Q. What files are created by DriveImage?

A. It depends on whether you create a multi-file image or not. A multi-file image will have a .xml file and a .dat file and files beyond that are numbered .001, .002, .003,… until the end of the drive. If you do not create a multi-file image, there will be a .dat file and a .xml file.

Q. Where are these files stored?

A. You will be prompted for a location in the software and you can choose where ever you like (not on the source drive though), however the default location is My Documents.

Q. Are there any command line parameters?

A. For the backup there are the following commands:

/bx

Backup drive x, e.g. /bc

/tx

Write backup files to x, e.g. /td:\backups\drive_c

/r

Raw mode, e.g. /r or /r-

/s

Split image, e.g. /s or /s-

/c

Compression (fast), e.g. /c or /c-

/c1

Compression (fast), e.g. /c1

/c2

Compression (good, but slow), e.g. /c2

/v

Try VSS first, e.g. /v, do not use with /l

/l

Try locking first, e.g. /l, do not use with /v

Q. How do I restore an image back to a working state?

A. Note that you must put the image into an existing partition. If necessary create a new partition with Windows Disk Management first. You do not need to format the drive. The size of the partition you create will determine the size of the drive - for example if you create a 20GB partition and then restore a 10GB size image to it, the size of the drive will still be 20GB.

If Windows Disk Management does not start, you can use the following commands from the command prompt:

net start dmserver

net start dmadmin

diskpart

To restore an image to an existing partition, click Restore in the main program window.

Note on boot drives: If you want your computer to boot from the new partition you must set it to "active" with Windows Disk Management.

Q. Why am I getting a VSS error when I try to backup a drive?

A. This error can occur if VSS (Volume Shadow Services) is not running properly on your system. This is not a DriveImage error. It is usually caused by poorly configured Windows systems.

Please verify in Settings->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services that the following services are enabled:

MS Software Shadow Copy Provider

Volume Shadow Copy

Also make sure you are able to stop and start these services.

Possible reasons for VSS failures:

For VSS to work, at least one volume in your computer must be NTFS. If you use only FAT drives, VSS will not function. The required NTFS volume does not need to be identical with the volume you want to image.

You should make sure that VSSVC.EXE is running in your task manager. If the problems persist, registering "oleaut.dll" and "oleaut32.dll" using "regsvr32" might help.

Without VSS you still can make images with locking or without locking.

Q. I restored my boot drive, why does it not boot?

A. To boot from a drive:

The boot partition should be located on the first drive (DISK0), which is usually the master drive.

The boot partition should be the first partition on the drive.

The boot partition must be a "primary" partition.

The boot partition must be "active".

If your drive still does not boot you can try to set a new "Disk ID". Windows remembers old drive letter assignments which can cause problems when trying to boot from a cloned drive. You can force the removal of old drive letter assignments by setting a new Disk ID. Click Tools->Set new Disk ID and read the instructions.

Vista Boot Problem:

If your cloned Vista drive refuses to boot with a "winload.exe is missing or corrupt" message, you might need to change the BCD store.

Fix automatically

- In DriveImage click on Tools->Fix Vista boot problem.

- Select the BCD Store of the new (cloned) drive.

- Click "Update BCD Store".

Your drive should now boot.

Fix manually

- Boot from your Vista installation DVD and start the command prompt. If your Windows directory is on C: navigate to c:\windows\system32.

- Type "bcdedit" (without quotes) and press Enter. You should see the following screen:

Windows Boot Manager

--------------------

identifier {bootmgr}

device partition=C:

description Windows Boot Manager

locale en-US

inherit {globalsettings}

default {current}

displayorder {current}

toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}

timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader

-------------------

identifier {current}

device partition=C:

path \Windows\system32\winload.exe

description Microsoft Windows Vista

locale en-US

inherit {bootloadersettings}

osdevice partition=C:

systemroot \Windows

resumeobject {d96b9513-83c6-11db-8615-bcd1a0f0502e}

nx OptIn

If under "Windows Boot Loader", "device" or "osdevice" do not contain your boot partition's name but display "unknown", you need to correct this. Type:

Windows 7 provides all the challenges mentioned above. In addition, a Window 7 standard installation provides a boot manager that is located in a small partition preceding the Winows 7 partition. However, we found the Windows 7 installation DVD very helpful with fixing boot problems. If you do not get the drive to boot, put in the installation DVD and initiate a startup repair. Here is a comprehensive article on how to do that: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ss/windows-7-startup-repair.htm

Q. Can I backup and restore a RAID?

A. Yes, as long as it is a hardware RAID. If it is a Windows software RAID, you can back it up, but you can not restore it back to the software RAID. You can restore it to an individual drive or hardware RAID, though.